MarEx eNewsletter - January 28, 2010

January 28th, 2010 Vol. 8, No. (January No Way Out? MarAd's struggles with 'Ghost Ship' fleet(s) continue, but the solution to all of it turns out to be quite simple. It would be a classic case of overstating the obvious to say that the U.S. Department of Transportation has its hands full this month. Nowhere within that ... Read More>>>Back to Top MarEx Mailbag This week's mailbag contains three letters. All entries address articles from last week's e-newsletter. In last week's MarEx e-newsletter, our lead editorial took a look back at the expansion plans (and ongoing construction) for the Panama Canal. In a piece that we named, "Thursday Morning Quarterback: Rethinking ... Read More>>>Back to Top MarEx Podcast: Our now regular feature is a popular staple for MarEx readers on the go. Our eleventh (and counting) podcast recounts our January 14th lead editorial referencing the planned demise of LORAN C here in the United States. The article drew healthy "click-through" traffic. Now, you can also tune in and ... Read More>>>Back to Top Lautenberg: MarAd Chief Nominee Expected to Fly Through Confirmation Process Superficial, lightly attended and largely ceremonial Senate Hearing of David Matsuda's nomination to be U.S. Maritime Administrator took place on Tuesday. In a hearing that attracted very little attention, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on Wednesday considered the nominations of David T. Matsuda, ... Read More>>>Back to Top MITAGS to Offer LNG Terminal Operators Course Course to run April 26-30, 2010. Classroom training is augmented with opportunities for hands-on application using the cryogenic simulator. • Scope: The course is intended to familiarize LNG terminal personnel with liquefied gas tanker safety and cargo operations. Terminal equipment such as pumps, hard ... Read More>>>Back to Top Bureau Veritas Upgrades Maritime Portal Revamped format to make the site clearer and easier to use, with new functionalities for shipowners who class vessels with Bureau Veritas. International classification society Bureau Veritas has upgraded its dedicated maritime website to make it easier for the shipping industry to keep up with changes to ... Read More>>>Back to Top Port Arthur Waterway Opened to Limited Traffic The waterways surrounding a major southern port in Texas closed due to an oil spill in the channel last Saturday. The waterway reopened to limited traffic Wednesday morning. According to official reports, over 530,000 gallons of oil and water mixture were recovered from the port of Port ... Read More>>>Back to Top Colonel John Bellis O'Dowd, United States Army (1956 – 2010) Colonel John Bellis O'Dowd, United States Army retired passed away on Tuesday, January 26, 2010 after succumbing to a heart attack while on a flight from Louisville Kentucky to Chicago, Illinois. John was 53 years old. Colonel O'Dowd was born in Bergenfield, New Jersey. He was commissioned ... Read More>>>Back to Top MarAd: Monongahela Successfully Refloated Obsolete vessel has been aground after breaking free from its James River moorings since November. Acting Maritime Administrator David Matsuda today announced that the Monongahela, one of the government-owned obsolete ships stored at the James River Fleet, was successfully refloated on Wednesday morning after being aground since ... Read More>>>Back to Top The Long-Term Outlook for the U.S. Navy's Fleet Statement of Eric J. Labs, Senior Analyst for Naval Forces and Weapons, on the the Long-Term Outlook for the U.S. Navy's Fleet, given before the Subcommittee on Seapower and Expeditionary Forces Committee on Armed Services, U.S. House of Representatives. Specifically, the Subcommittee asked the Congressional Budget Office ... Read More>>>Back to Top Superintendent for US Merchant Marine Academy Sought by DOT Job Announcement Number: (MARAD-10-02-NG) now posted on line. Full time, permanent position pays as much as $179.7K annually. Job announcement open period closes on 19 April 2010. • Job Summary: The Superintendent of the US Merchant Marine Academy is responsible for the development of ... Read More>>>Back to Top AWO & WCI: Stop the Asian Carp Hysteria Trade and policy organizations say Legislation threatens Great Lakes-Area economy and jobs. Legislation was recently introduced in the House of Representatives that would devastate the Great Lakes economy, jeopardizing businesses and thousands of jobs in the economically strapped region. Michigan Representative Dave Camp's CARP Act (H.R. 4472) ... Read More>>>Back to Top MarEx LinkedIn Discussion Group Reaches 6,071+ Maritime Professionals - and Counting... The Maritime Executive Group on LinkedIn is now the most powerful (& popular) social networking group of maritime professionals. Now more than doubling our April 2009 numbers (3,000 members); MarEx logged another 665 members in the last 45 days alone. Are you a member yet? What are you waiting for? ... Read More>>>Back to Top London P&I Club Warns on Dangers of Using Out-of-Date Charts The London P&I Club says there is evidence to suggest that out-of-date onboard charts and other nautical publications continue to be a contributory cause of shipping accidents. In the latest issue of its StopLoss Bulletin, the club notes, "The International Convention for Safety of Life at Sea ... Read More>>>Back to Top CDOT Reaches Out for More State Pilots Applications from qualified mariners being solicited; successful candidates would eventually earn Connecticut State Pilot's license to work CT side of Joint rotation in Long Island Sound. As authorized by the Connecticut General Statute (Sec. 15-13), the Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Transportation is soliciting applications from ... Read More>>>Back to Top High-Speed Ferry Ships to Support Haiti Relief Efforts High-speed ferry ships M/V Huakai and M/V Alakai are preparing to sail to Haiti in support of Operation Unified Response to provide disaster relief following the Jan. 12 earthquake there. Huakai and Alakai were originally built to serve as passenger and vehicle ferries in Hawaii but were ... Read More>>>Back to Top Marshall Islands Now Ranked As 3rd Largest Open Registry Registry also remains the only major open registry to be included on the US Coast Guard's Qualship 21 roster for four years in a row. 27 January: The Marshall Islands Registry moved into position as the world's third largest open registry with more than 52.3 million gross ... Read More>>>Back to Top PLANETDATA / MARITIME SECURITY NEWS PlanetData - The Security News Network is a free news and information resource focused on maritime, global, corporate, cyber, homeland and aviation security, law enforcement and intelligence. PlanetData hosts timely and comprehensive content gathered from over 1,000 online sources, as well as from our editors, contributors and members. This newsletter ... Read More>>>Back to Top NTSB Advisory: Port Arthur Tanker Collision and Oil spill National Transportation Safety Board to assist U.S. Coast Guard investigation into tanker collision and oil spill near Port Arthur, Texas. The National Transportation Safety Board has launched a go-team to participate with the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) in its investigation of Saturday's collision involving the tank vessel ... Read More>>>Back to Top Conference on Cutting Edge Issues in Shipping At SUNY Maritime College, discussions to be led by leading Maritime Executives; event to take place on Tuesday, February 2, 2010 with Free Admission. SUNY Maritime College will present the College's 5th Annual Conference on Cutting Edge Issues in Shipping, Tuesday, February 2, 2010, the "Tiv," McMurray ... Read More>>>Back to Top National Maritime Center Bulletin: Delayed Issuance/License Creep Coast Guard clarifies Delayed Issuance of Credentials. The purpose of this bulletin is to emphasize long standing Coast Guard Policy regarding delaying the issuance of a Merchant Mariner Credential for renewal applicants to closely coincide with the expiration date of a current credential. The Coast Guard first ... Read More>>>Back to Top DOJ: Medford, MA Man Convicted of Lasering LNG Tanker Helicopter Escort and Making False Statements Boston, MA (January 25, 2010): A Medford man was convicted today of shining a laser beam into a State Police helicopter. United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz, George Naccara, Federal Security Director for the Transportation Security Administration in Boston, Warren T. Bamford, Special Agent in Charge of ... Read More>>>Back to Top Maritime Casualties--January 28, 2010 Ships Conducting Illegal Oil Transfer Seized and Tug Runs Aground in South Florida • Ships Detained After Illegal Oil Transfer The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency detained two ships conducting an illegal transfer of oil. Reportedly, a helicopter patrolling the area saw the two ships ... Read More>>>Back to Top Donjon-SMIT, LLC, Provides Emergency Towing Assistance to Vessel South of Nantucket Alexandria, VA—On Monday, January 18, 2010, Donjon-SMIT, LLC, an OPA-90 Alliance, was notified by QI Gallagher Marine Services that a vessel required emergency towing assistance. The Tavricheski Bridge, managed by UNICOM Ship Management, had broken a main engine camshaft and lost main propulsion 160 miles Southeast of Nantucket in the ... Read More>>>Back to Top MITAGS to Offer Deck & Engine Coast Guard Preparation Courses Offerings reflect industry demand and will be given at the MITAGS Campus. • Engine Department In response to requests, MITAGS has scheduled two, unlicensed engine department Coast Guard Exam Preparation Courses in 2010. An unlimited 3rd Assistant Prep Course can be schedule for six ... Read More>>>Back to Top BISSO MARINE ACHIEVES 0.494 TRIR IN 2009 BISSO MARINE, a premier provider of energy and maritime support services, achieved a safety milestone in 2009 by recording a 0.494 TRIR. The 0.494 safety benchmark improved significantly compared with 2008, when BISSO MARINE posted a 1.17 Total Recordable Incident Rate. That marks a 58 percent reduction ... Read More>>>Back to Top EMAIL UNSUBSCRIBE Copyright © 2010 The Maritime Executive. 3200 S. Andrews Avenue, Suite 100 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316